RLA Pastor's blog

The cares of life. Everyone has them. The question is what to do with them. 1 Peter 5:7 provides the answer, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”​

The Greek word translated “casting” is also used in Luke 19:35 where we read, “And they THREW their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.” The term translated “casting” in 1 Peter 5:7, and “threw” in Luke 19:35 means, to throw upon.

Put the passages together and we understand that the Bible instructs us to do something intentional and complete. Jesus doesn’t take our cares from us anymore than He took the garments from the disciples. As they cast their clothes on the colt, we cast our cares on Jesus. Furthermore, we are invited to cast all of them, not just some. The tense of the verb used in 1 Peter 5:7 means to cast the whole burden of care in a one-time act and never take it back.

Now look at the word “care.” It translates a Greek word that carries the idea of pulling something in two different directions. The word “distraction” expresses the thought. That is what happens when we try to carry the cares of life ourselves. We become distracted by them. We struggle to focus. We become double-minded, fluctuating between faith and fear. Our minds are continually drawn away into places they should not go.

It’s amazing how heavy the cares of life can become. Without help from heaven, they can literally crush the life out of you. As Jesus explained in the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, they can even derail a person’s faith if not handled properly (Matthew 13:22).

To handle them properly we must do as Peter said, “Casting all your care upon Him.” God is the only One who can carry our care without being crushed by it. So cast all your burdens upon Him because, “He cares for you.” Here are three observations --

1. God’s care is personal — “HE cares for you.” God doesn’t delegate the care of His children to anyone else. He personally cares for you.

2. God’s care is practical — “He CARES for you.” The word “cares” here is different from the “care” used earlier. The first “care” has the idea of being distracted by burdens and anxieties. The second has the idea of personal interest and concern. God is there to help us in our times of need.

3. God’s care is individual — “He cares for YOU.” God doesn’t care for everyone else in the world except you. God cares very much for you!

It’s interesting that the command to cast all our care comes in-between two other key commands: humble yourselves (v6) and, resist the devil (v8). Casting your cares on the Lord requires humility. It admits the truth of the song that says, ”We are weak, but He is strong.” It is also one of the ways we resist the devil who seeks to use the burdens of life to distract and even defeat us.

So how do we go about casting our care upon the Lord? Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”